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Investigative Unit: Questions raised over town mayor's salary

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WHITE CASTLE - Questions are being raised tonight about a fat raise the Mayor of White Castle received during 2015.

Town leaders are mum on the situation. Check registers obtained by the Investigative Unit indicate during the week of April 6 until April 19, Mayor Jermarr Williams earned $20.31 per hour. That's about $40,000 per year. Fast forward to November 16 thru the 29th, check registers indicate his salary increased to $24.44. That's about $51,000, and that hourly rate equates to almost a 20 percent raise for the Mayor. WBRZ is told any increase to the Mayor's salary needs to be done by ordinance.

Town Attorney Valencia Landry was asked about this. Over the phone she said, "the mayor did not receive a raise to her recollection."

In addition to the discrepancies with his salary, Williams is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow over an issue involving public records.

Two residents sued last year, claiming Williams and the Town Clerk refused to produce public records. Garnell Young and June Landry filed the lawsuit.

"I feel like they are hiding something," Young said.

Charlotte McGeHee is representing them and says her clients have not been able to easily obtain anything from White Castle Town Hall.

"When you have someone who is so strenuously opposed to you receiving a basic public record, there has to be some underlying reason," Charlotte McGeHee said. "We don't know what the reason is because there's been a wall that's been put up. There's nothing we can look at."

Young said he received a letter from the Town Attorney this week, scolding him for sending in public records requests.

Part of it reads, "The persistency and frequency of your public records requests as well as your visits and telephone calls to the Mayor's Office, now border on harassment and may require legal action."

Landry said Young continues to call about public records he requested, and hopes the Judge will rectify this issue in the morning. Calls to Mayor Williams were not returned.